Culturally Responsive Academic Advising of Black Males at an Urban Community College During COVID-19

The current research study aims to explore the academic advisors' culturally responsive advising of Black males at an urban community college during COVID-19. The qualitative method is suitable for the current research since the research focused on phenomenon analysis and non-statistical means of inquiry. The current research uses a phenomenological design to examine a specific group and phenomenon. The research will add to the understanding and knowledge base of the motivation and perceptions of academic advisors on advising Black males of an urban community college during the current global pandemic. The purpose is to examine how academic advisors respond to the needs of Black males in how it affects their enrolment, persistence, and success while studying in an urban community college. The research will support reviews regarding cultural intelligence and the need for more accountability for the overall success of Black male students.

Student Acceptance of a Civic Engagement Graduation Requirement in an Urban Community College

Civic engagement is an essential part of a democratic society, though it has recently tended toward adversarial political conflict. Although many college administrators favor encouraging or requiring student civic engagement, little is known about whether students themselves would support this, and how student characteristics are related to acceptance. Past and present civic activities of 2,327 students at a large, very diverse urban community college were surveyed using the newly developed KCC Civic Engagement Scale. Results showed strong agreement that the college had a responsibility to develop civically engaged students, but that the term “civic engagement” is unclear to many. Principal components analysis revealed four distinct factors: general non-political civic engagement, and low-effort, high-effort, and unconventional political activities. Level of student participation in various activities is primarily determined by a student's time availability and secondarily by a complex assortment of personal characteristics, including residency status.

Institutionalization and Sustainability of Undergraduate Research across Disciplines at a Public, Urban Community College: Successes and Challenges

This article describes various approaches of Queensborough Community College-CUNY to institutionalize, promote, and support undergraduate research (UR); approaches to handling the challenging aspects of sustaining UR at a community college; and recent initiatives to expand UR across disciplines. Although a large proportion of the research occurs within STEM fields, the social sciences, nursing, business, arts, and the humanities are also represented and have increased research activity each year.

 Reflecting on Professional Identity Through Art: A Case Example

Undergraduate human services programs seek ways to support students as they develop their professional identities. Few, if any studies, have considered the benefits of engaging human services students in art directives as a method for them to reflect on their professional identities. The following is a case example on how an art directive was incorporated in an undergraduate fieldwork course at an urban community college.

The Effects of a Peer Teaching Approach on Urban Community College Students’ Vocabulary Development Using Vocabulary Theatre

The purpose of this study was to replicate the first author’s previous study with more diverse participants including ethnic minority students to investigate the effects of a peer teaching approach on students’ vocabulary development using a treatment entitled Vocabulary Theatre (VT). Literacy professors at an urban community college in the Northeast conducted vocabulary research with their students in their respective classes. A mixed methods quasi - experimental study was conducted to compare the mean gains scores of two different types of vocabulary acquisition. Students in the VT condition were instructed to take ownership of their expressive vocabulary by teaching their assigned target words to peers in a small group. The group was then responsible to create a short skit (vignette) that used all of their assigned words appropriately, and to perform it for the class. This gave students multiple repeated exposures to the target words. This differed from the Teacher Directed Instruction (TDI) in which the students were asked to simply look up definitions of the entire list of target words. Students were given a pre- and posttest to examine their level of vocabulary acquisition in each condition. A gain score was computed subtracting the pretest results from the posttest results. Also, qualitative data was collected in the form of individual interviews, classroom observations, and small group discussions in the classroom. Analysis of qualitative data showed higher levels of motivation and engagement as reported in student interviews. Though limited by a small sample size, quantitative results showed an improvement in scores of post tests regardless of the instruction method.